social media

I wanted to talk about a slightly different topic than normal on here – about the thought process behind scheduling my Instagram posts and my entire Instagram feed itself…

“Is it a GOOD photo or is it mediocre?” “Does it look good on my feed?” “Should I start posting only outfit photos and not coffee drinks or pretty flatlays because my outfits get higher engagement?” “Should I completely change my entire feed and try something new?” “Should I share things other than fashion?” “Should I play it safe and only post content that I already know will do well?” ” or should I change it up and not care?” “What direction should I take?” Asking for a friend.

This is how I’ve been feeling lately. I have been in one of those moods where I feel stuck in a rut, confused, lost. Getting out of this weird “funk” is sometimes difficult. Or maybe I’m just having a moment. It happens. I feel like other bloggers know what I’m talking about. I’ve noticed that whenever I post a photo other than outfits, it doesn’t get the reaction I would’ve hoped for. Engagement is super low. While I love my feed to have a variety and not just outfit after another, seems like my followers are not into it. They only like my outfit photos. So what do I do? Should I only post what my followers like instead of what I like?

Don’t get me wrong. I do post what I like and I stay true to myself, but sometimes I look at my feed and think “(Yawning) Ugh, I could’ve done better”. “Boring”. And I don’t like feeling this way.

While you’ll see more of my personality and personal side on my Instagram stories and Snapchat, I do keep my Instagram account strictly blog-related content. I have to. It’s my business, however; you will see my fun-witty-sarcastic side (read IG captions), and share content that is still relevant but not just an OOTD after another OOTD… make sense? That’s what my personal account is for – to show content that isn’t blog-related.

The way I see my Instagram account is if it looks boring to me, then I need to make some changes. I like content that shows some type of breakage, that splits content from repeating similar content in a row, such as beauty or details shots or anything inspiring. I like consistency but not repetitive if that makes any sense.

So while I still try to figure out the plans for my Instagram feed and the direction I plan to take, I do hope that you stick around because I do plan to sprinkle in some new not-your-usual content on my Instagram.

If you have any suggestions or thoughts on this post, feel free to leave me a comment. I love reading them. 🙂

I miss the days when Instagram was easy, stress-free, and not having to worry about how to go around the “new algorithm changes” (literally rolling my eyes as I type this). Remember when you could get 600 likes with less than 10k followers? Or when your feed wasn’t controlled by Instagram’s new formula? Nowadays, you can have 100k followers with only 600 likes, if that (smh).

With the new changes, one must find ways to stay relevant in the blogger world. In other words desperate times calls for desperate measures… I’m talking about Loop Giveaways that have been all over your feed (guilty), and Like/Comment Pods (keep scrolling to read).

As much as it’s annoying to see nothing but loop giveaways on my Instagram feed, I think it is appropriate to do one or two, not three in a day or in a week. Spread them to throughout the months. I made the mistake of doing two within two weeks only because I didn’t realize how close the giveaways were going to be (my bad). I won’t be doing that again.

Although a lot of people have their own thoughts and opinions about loop giveaways and are not fans of them, I am here to say that I see both sides. Some may think it’s like buying followers, but I have to disagree because someone actually ends up winning an amazing gift, while buying followers will only get you fake/ghost followers. These loop giveaways have their pros and cons.

Pros: Influencers who participate in these giveaways have a chance to gain more exposure from a wider audience, which means more followers. This is a pro, especially on a brand’s perspective since, unfortunately a lot of brands care more about quantity versus quality.

Cons: After the giveaway is over, you lose followers (not all but most), which is pretty standard and expected.

It really depends on how you look at it. The way I see them is that it definitely helps your blog/Instagram get recognition. The new followers might not have even known about your blog or Instagram, which can help in your advantage if they like your feed and stick around. OR, perhaps these accounts who are entering these giveaways are just in it for the free stuff (also pretty normal), and are only following for a chance to win, period. It’s really difficult to gage these loop giveaways, but I suggest every influencer who is trying to build their account to try a giveaway to see how they like it. If it didn’t matter about the number of followers you have on Instagram, then none of the above would be relevant. Unfortunately, as a full time blogger (I’ll speak for myself) we have to make sure our numbers keep growing and our engagement is high, which leads me to Like/Comment Pods…

Would I do another loop giveaway? Yeah, maybe – but i’m definitely going to try to host more giveaways on my own and see how that works out. Not only for exposure but for my followers because I luv ya. 😉

LIKE / COMMENT PODS

For those of you who are not familiar with these pods, they are DM groups through Instagram or through the Telegram app (I’m sure there are others) with different bloggers who share their Instagram posts for the group to like and or comment on each other’s posts. It’s another way to support one another. I briefly mentioned my thoughts about it on my 5 Instagram Pet Peeves blog post. Very similar to my thoughts on loop giveaways – I’m not against them. My only issue is when other bloggers do not catch up, meaning like or comment on your posts. The way it works is that you must be caught up with whoever is involved in the group by liking and or commenting before sharing your posts with the group. Some follow rules, while most do not… this is based off my experience by the way. I had to leave a few groups because I felt like I was abiding by the rules while others were using lame excuses like “sorry no wifi, will catch up later” yet still share their post. This topic is silly, really. And I’m sure more for those who are reading this who are not bloggers, but this is the blogging world we live in.

Anywho, these are my thoughts on loop giveaways and like/comment pods based off my experience. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.

As a blogger, it is really difficult to be on both and try to create different content as oppose to sharing every snapchat story onto Insta stories, which I’m guilty of. It honestly makes no sense. What’s the point of following you on both platforms if you’re going to be sharing the exact same content, right?

Here are my thoughts on Instagram stories vs Snapchat stories…

Instagram Stories:

Pros:

You can see and click on users who view your stories (I see you boo boo).

Hands-free video is awesome.

You can tag a brand/person, which will lead you to their Instagram profile with just a click of a button. Very convenient when working with a brand.

Video seems longer but not really sure if they are.

The Boomerang feature is my favorite.

You can go live.

You can be more creative with the drawing and text tools, especially since you can create multiple text lines.

You get more views.

You can view a photo longer by pressing down on your screen. Love this feature because I am able to read a longer caption if needed.

Cons:

You can’t see who screen shots your stories, which is annoying.

There are no fun filters.

You cannot control the length of each photo or video.

Once the stories are done, it automatically takes you to the next person, which I can definitely do without.

You don’t have the fast-forward, rewind or slow-motion tool.

You can only upload photos from your camera phone that were taken within 24 hours, otherwise you’ll have to screen shot & crop your photos to appear within the 24hr time frame.

If you save your stories, they automatically appear in your camera roll versus within the app itself.

Snapchat Stories:

Pros:

Geo tags and filters are the best.

You can control the length of each photo and video.

All stories saved are saved within the app and not necessarily in your camera roll, however you do have the option of doing both.

You can upload from your camera roll without any restrictions.

You can see who screen shots and re-plays your stories.

You can create your own geo tag for special events.

Cons:

Although Snapchat let’s you see who views your stories, you’re limited because you cannot click through their profile to see exactly who they are unless you know them by their screen name.

You can mention a brand, however they will not be notified that they have been tagged or mentioned.

The drawing tools can be better.

Views aren’t nearly as great.

No Boomerang or Live feature.

So, which platform do you prefer?

In my opinion, if Instagram stories had better filters, be able to control the length of each story, and be able to see who screen shots your stories, then I would probably stop using snapchat altogether. Although I find myself more active on Insta stories, I am having a bit of separation anxiety and completely letting go of Snapchat. I do believe that Instagram will be coming out with new tools and features that will convince me to officially cut the Snapchat umbilical cord. Until then, you can still find me on both, but most likely more Insta stories.